MARCH 17 CROP INSURANCE
DEADLINE APPROACHING
Federal Disaster Payment Eligibility Changed

HARRISBURG – Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff reminded Pennsylvania farmers today to finalize crop insurance decisions for 2008 spring-planted crops by the March 17 deadline.
“Crop insurance is an indispensable tool for protecting Pennsylvania agriculture,” Wolff said. “Crop price instability, the rising cost of production, and adverse weather can damage a farmer’s bottom line, making it essential that they have a way to recover financially and start preparing for the next growing season.”

Unlike previous years, producers collecting federal disaster payments must be enrolled in a crop insurance plan, or the non-insured crop assistance program through Farm Service Agency. Producers who do not have crop insurance on the damaged crop will be unable to receive federal assistance for disasters leading to full or partial crop failure.

“In the past, many producers depended on the funds they received from federal disaster payments to recover from devastating losses,” said Wolff. “Now those funds will only be available to producers enrolled in a crop insurance plan, making it essential that all Pennsylvania farmers get policies to help protect their livelihoods and the vitality of Pennsylvania agriculture.”
In the past five years, $140 million in crop insurance loss payments have been paid to producers that participated in crop insurance.

Producers should contact their local crop insurance agent before March 17 to purchase insurance. A list of agents can be found at www.rma.usda.gov .
For more information on Pennsylvania’s crop insurance program, call 717-705-9511 or visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us/cropinsurance.